As the worldwide market for passenger cars, components and services becomes increasingly globalized, manufacturers and suppliers face more than just the technical challenges of engineering their systems for such a broad spectrum of operating environments. Whereas the design and manufacture of the product is under the full control of the OEM, the next step in its life cycle introduces a wholly unpredictable element: how the customer chooses to use that product.
Consumer behavior is the wild card that every engineer needs to take into consideration. In some emerging markets, for instance, drivers habitually overload their vehicles to an extreme degree, while in other regions servicing schedules can be distorted or completely ignored. Either way, the careful calculations made by the headquarters design team are likely to be upset and a new set of conditions brought into play.
Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to routine fluid changes, especially those involving engine oil, transmission lubricants and hydraulic fluid. Drivers’ attitudes to regular maintenance tasks can make enormous differences in how lubricants perform in the field, which in turn impacts the durability of the hardware and the reliability of the complete vehicle. Yet, for the scientists in the laboratories back at the company headquarters, it is almost impossible to be sure how their products are actually being used in the field in some remote market many thousands of miles away, where the climate and the conditions are different and the culture and attitude toward machinery may vary significantly.
Transmissions, an often forgotten component, are particularly sensitive to the use of the correct fluid. That is why Lubrizol has undertaken parallel studies of transmission fluid changes in China and Korea, two of the largest vehicle markets in the world. “We wanted to understand behavior in these markets — how the fluids are changed and when, and how different brands are accepted,” said Tim Lin, Lubrizol Product Manager. “We also wanted to understand purchase behavior — how users prioritize core attributes and benefits when buying transmission fluid.”
Additional further sections within the study sought to understand reasons for transmission failures or problems in the field, and also to measure the appeal of new types of transmission fluids in the market.
The survey generated significant amounts of very useful data and, as Lin explained, revealed that while DEXRON®-IIIG/MERCON® is the major specification for Korea, in China the VW TL 52162 and Toyota WS are the principal fluid specifications.
Installers and End-user Behaviors
The selected fluid installers in each country were located mainly in large cities, but Korean and Chinese installers differed in size and turnover. Korean outlets were typically smaller but longer established; in China, the outlets each carried out between 10 and 12 changes of manual and automatic transmission fluid per month. In both markets, the passenger cars attended to were typically between three and five years old, although China had fewer under two years or over ten years old.
The data suggested that Korea changes a greater volume of ATF, while China changes more MTF. This data is in line with the AT and MT split in the vehicle parcs in the respective markets. Further revelations include the fact that Korea uses ATF changing machines for replacing vehicles’ transmission fluid, while Chinese outlets tend to prefer the pan drop method. One explanation could be that, with automatic transmissions more popular in Korea, fluid-changing establishments are more likely to find it worthwhile investing in an ATF changing machine.
Korea emerges from the survey as a market that is careful to adhere to rules and recommendations. “For changing MTF, Korea always uses MTF while Chinese installers sometimes uses gear oil or even ATF,” said Lin. Chinese installers tend to select higher viscosity grades for MTF, too, typically using SAE 80W-90, while their Korean counterparts favor SAE 75W-85.
Under the heading of Customer Involvement in Transmission Fluid Changes, the researchers sought to analyze customer behavior in deciding to make a fluid change and in selecting the new fluid to install. Korean customers clearly kept a very watchful eye on the odometer and onboard service indicator, booking in for oil changes for both MTs and ATs every 41,000 km on average. Once again China provides a contrast, with manual transmission fluids typically being changed at nearly double the Korean distance and automatics also at higher intervals. Another significant difference to emerge is that Chinese end users tend to ask for professional recommendations when it comes to deciding when to change a fluid and what brand or grade to select; by way of contrast, in Korea, 60 percent of end users do not ask about the replacement fluid.
As with Korea, however, the Chinese survey did not investigate what fluids installers were using instead of ATF, nor their reasons for this choice. Nevertheless, when asked to list their priorities when it came to choosing a brand of ATF, Korean installers cited smooth shifting performance, low price and the convenience that came from having one specification of fluid applicable to a wide range of vehicle types.
Smoothness was also listed as a top priority by Chinese installers, with convenience second. Third most important, in their view, was the reassurance provided by a reputable brand. This desire, it could be assumed, is a reflection of the end users’ wishes and stands as one of the major differences between the Chinese and Korean fluid replacement markets.
In-service Issues
In-service performance issues such as shuddering, noisiness or fluid deterioration are broadly similar across the two markets, even though the survey appears to show that Chinese customers experience considerably more problems with their transmissions — most notably oil leaks, cited in over 80 percent of instances where problems occurred, and the use of the wrong fluids. Korean installers, by comparison, reported certain gear wear and oil deterioration issues, but did not suffer the damage caused by fluid misapplication that characterized the Chinese results.
While China emerged as the more diversified market and Korea painted a more uniform picture, Lubrizol’s purpose in conducting these surveys was not necessarily to make comparisons or contrasts between the two markets. Instead, Lin states, “We’re doing this so we can better understand these markets and help our customers there as much as possible.”
And, looking ahead and taking into account the responses linked to the question on the hypothetical Multi-Vehicle ATF concepts, Lin concludes that both markets would be good candidates. “We’re working to support our customers in promoting the multi-vehicle ATF concepts in both markets.”
